My invention relates to a compartmentalized paint cup for use with a conventional spray gun. More particularly, my invention pertains to a compartmentalized paint cup detachably connected to a selector valve assembly by a plurality of aspirator tubes whereby an operator of a spray gun may select between different liquids in the paint cup for spray application by merely changing position of the valve. In its narrowest embodiment my new paint cup comprises two separate compartments, however in its broadest embodiment my new invention is a multi-chambered paint cup for alternate and individual application of several different liquid coatings with the same spray gun by merely moving a selector valve.
A review of the prior art discloses several paint cups for use with a conventional spray gun but none are compartmentalized. Therefore, the present state of the art requires that an operator of a conventional spray gun use a separate paint cup for each individual coating application. For example, in some commercial painting operations it is not uncommon to find several spray guns in use to accomplish a single task because each spray gun is limited to a single coating application. In automobile painting especially it is necessary to apply a surface material called a primer or prime coat which is of different chemical composition than the second or subsequent coating of paint. Often times more than one primer coating is required before the final coating of paint. And in other cases an additional coating of material called a sealer coating is applied over the final coating of paint to protect it. Thus, it is easily seen that a compartmentalized paint cup would provide a definite improvement over the prior art because it would permit the application of several surface coatings with a single conventional spray gun.
As it is perhaps well known, paint sprayers or spray guns as they are commonly called are a very important tool because they are incredibly fast and as much as ten times faster than painting with a brush. But most important paint spray guns produce a smooth and uniform coating which is ideal for painting automobile bodies, machinery and appliances. Typically, spray guns are either pressure fed or siphon fed by an air compressor. In pressure fed guns air is fed directly into the paint cup which forces paint up a tube and through the nozzle. The pressure fed gun is said to be best for application of heavy materials like latex paints or for fast spraying. The siphon fed gun is most commoly used today wherein air is supplied directly across an opening above an aspirator tube causing a vacuum, and atmospheric pressure entering the cup through a vent pushes the paint up into the nozzle of the gun. Thus, siphon fed guns are said to produce finer atomization and are best utilized when an extra fine finish is desired. However, either type of spray gun has heretofore been limited to the single application of a particular coating material in the paint cup.
Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a compartmentalized paint cup with selector valve apparatus for use with either pressure fed or siphon fed spray guns enabling the operator to select different liquid surface coating materials for application by the spray gun by merely changing a valve position. This objective is achieved in the description, drawing and claims that follow herein.